Truck Automation Opportunities

This paper gives a summary of a recent session dedicated to truck automation opportunities held as part of the Transportation Research Board/Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (TRB/AUVSI) 2014 Automated Vehicle Symposium. Improved safety, efficiency, and productivity, with lower environmental impacts, are all potential benefits of heavy truck automation. Near-term opportunities for more advanced automation technologies in trucks are platooning and low-speed maneuvering. Advanced technologies are being developed for more automated truck operation. This chapter presents the status and trends of truck automation technologies, technical challenges, barriers to deployment, and possible pathways to automation.